E-Paper
Ludhiana: Rights panel seeks DC report on leakage in MC record room
Commission acted on complaint filed by activist who alleged that sewerage water had damaged important public records stored in basement
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The Punjab State Human Rights Commission has ordered the Ludhiana deputy commissioner to submit an action report on a complaint alleging that sewerage water leakage in the basement of the municipal corporation’s zone A office is damaging important public records.
The commission, acting on a complaint filed by social activist Arvind Sharma in July, observed that the matter “prima facie appears to be a violation of human rights of the general public”. It directed that the report be submitted a week before the next hearing, scheduled for October 9.
Sharma had alleged that the basement Record Room was in an unsafe condition and that sewerage-water leakage was damaging records stored there.
The issue had earlier come to light during an inspection by senior deputy mayor Rakesh Prashar on July 8. A foul odour and signs of prolonged water seepage were reportedly found in the record room, where several official documents, including G-8 books containing details of payments received from the public and property-tax records, are stored.
The complainant has alleged that several records were in a severely deteriorated condition. The records are important as they contain details of public payments and official transactions, and their loss could make it difficult for citizens to verify payments or establish details of past dealings with the civic body. Following the inspection, the matter was brought to the notice of the municipal commissioner, who was reportedly directed that the record room be shifted to safer premises.
Sharma has sought details of the number of records damaged, whether an inventory of the affected documents has been prepared, steps taken to preserve the remaining records and whether responsibility has been fixed for the alleged negligence.
